Asara Scheme: Pensioners Enrolled With Telangana Govt Fake

Hyderabad: According to the investigations into the alleged fraud which were reported at the Hyderabad cyber crime police station has revealed that the details of several pensioners enrolled under the Aasra Pension Scheme were found fake.

According to the reports, around 255 persons were added to the government records without their basic important identity proofs including Aadhar cards. The details of new pensioners were uploaded unauthorisedly and those people drew the pension. Some of them were added recently in the months of May, June, and July this year by logging into official accounts of the state government and making changes in the bank account and other details.

An official from the city police said, "The investigation is still underway to find out who has uploaded the details of the new beneficiaries by making modifications to the existing pensioners, and soon we will come to a conclusion.

The police found an Aadhaar card in a woman’s name having the photograph of a teenage boy, and the person was approved as eligible for the pension and he drew the money.

"When the modified details were checked in one case, it was found that the name of the beneficiary indicated a woman, but the photograph provided in the identification proof was that of a child, who would be at least 15 years old," said the official.

In another case, a middle-aged man was withdrawing pension in the name of an old person, who was actually deceased. But the pension was still being deposited into his account and his son was withdrawing it every month.

"People were getting pension under weavers quota, and a woman was receiving a pension because her details showed she was a widow, but her husband was very much alive," said the official.

Bank accounts and Aadhar card details of some people in the Charminar Mandal had been modified to show they were eligible for a pension when they were actually not. Details of many others are still to be verified.

Aasara scheme was started by Cheif Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao for financial support to the elderly, the disabled, weavers, people with HIV, single women and beedi workers.

Investigations are still going on to make a report of an exact number of fraudulent persons who are claiming pensions.

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